Media freedom is under attack in Pakistan, declared Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s most prominent journalists. He had six bullets pumped into him by bike riders in Karachi on 19 April. TV anchor, Raza Rumi, was similarly attacked in Lahore in late March. In May 2011, investigative reporter Saleem Shahzad was murdered following his allegations […]
All eyes are on Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). No matter how incompetent or troubled it may be, the authority remains responsible for dealing with issues related to the electronic media such as the one making headlines these days. During this tug of war between the country’s biggest media house and the Inter-Services Intelligence […]
The ongoing saga between Jang Group and the ISI, in which the entire nation – from the Mullahs, to the media anchors, to the politicians, to the judiciary, and even the mango people – is now engulfed, is more than simply about Hamid Mir’s allegations regarding the assassination attempt. The tentacles of this drama of […]
KARACHI: Senior journalists are worried about the future of the media in Pakistan and admit that they are leaving behind a far more insecure environment for budding professionals. Several professionals agreed that different media houses should work together to tackle this problem before it worsens. They were speaking at a consultative meeting with journalists and […]
QUETTA: Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa, has said that the constitution gave right of access to information, adding that some media institutions were telecasting news without confirmation. Speaking at a ceremony held in connection with the launching of the “Report of Media Commission, which was formed by […]
LONDON: Britain’s Secretary of the State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith has said that freedom of the press is fundamentally important to protect all kinds of freedoms and no government or authority shall be allowed to take away these freedoms under any excuse or pretext. The senior Tory leader and UK government figure […]
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought, which they seldom use,” wrote Kierkegaard, realising that there are very few men who can afford to think, and a whole lot of humanity wanting to speak. Speech, admittedly, comes more trippingly on the tongue than losing one’s head on a hard […]
LAHORE: The final day of the three-day-long All Pakistan Women Journalists Convention (APWJC) drew to a close on Sunday with a declaration, authored by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), on the rights of female and male journalists in the country. Addressing a gathering of woman journalists and anchors here at the Lahore Press […]
The extremely tragic assassination attempt on Hamid Mir is the worst demonstration of how forces within the country are trying to stifle freedom of speech. What is equally disturbing is that Geo and Hamid’s family members immediately reacted by accusing the involvement of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in it. Although discretion demanded that even if […]
ISLAMABAD: What’s the crime this lovely anchorperson, Hamid Mir, committed that hit the heartless attackers so hard that they pumped six bullets into his body, creating a worldwide furore. He has been relentlessly speaking against the missing persons especially Balochs. He has the credit of hosting more programmes on this issue than all the talk […]
In Pakistan, reporting on the military intelligence services or insurgent groups or machinations within political parties is the normal grist for the media mill. A lot of the coverage relies on reporters with inside sources. The sources use the media as a battleground for their infighting, relying on sympathetic reporters to put forward their positions. […]
KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Friday’s attack on Express News anchorperson Raza Rumi which left his driver dead. “This house strongly condemns the attack on Raza Rumi in Lahore in which his personal driver was killed. This house recommends the Sindh government approach the federal government to take action against […]
Freedom of Speech is a right guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan but is still nevertheless subject to a pretty astounding caveat whereby the law mandates that this freedom is to be curbed when the glory of Islam, the integrity of Pakistan, friendly relations with other states, decency and morality, contempt of […]
An end to the YouTube ban may be on the horizon. There is no definite date for a lifting, but the government seems prepared to move in that direction. The information minister said on March 16 when speaking to journalists in Lahore that software has been developed that will ‘filter controversial content’. If this is […]
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